The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-04-22
WHAT 1T MEANS.

In Fridays st. Paul and Minneap-
oils papers a telegram dated at Chicago,
reads:
AT meeting of the railway lines in
terested in Northwestern traffic, Mr.. j.
w. Chapman presented the views of the
Minneapolis and st. Paul jobbers rela-
tive to the adjustment of rates necessary
to fully preserve their business. With
out coming to u final conclusion, the
meeting adjourned till tomorrow. 1t is
understood that the result will be pc
tition from the railways represented for
a suspension of the long and short haul
clause of the new law. -
1t is self-evident to every business
man who has watched the course of met
ropolitan papers that a strong efEft Is
being made to bring the Interstate Com
merce law into disfavor throughout the
country. In their eagerness To do this,
however, some very weak and not alto
gether truthful statements are sent forth,
but this matters not to them. The in
terests of the great cities which they
represent must be guarded at all haz-
yards, even though it be, as in the past,
at the cost of interior towns and villages.
The telegram above produced is dead
giveway. A representative of St.NPaul
and Minneapolis jobbers was sent to
Chicago for what? For the purpose of
| laying before the railroads the interests
of those two cities and to ask that the
long and short haul clause of the law be
suspended, so that they may be able to
secure freight rates at about one-half
what they are obliged to pay now, and
| about two-thirds less than could possibly
he secured by any outside city of an
equal or less distance from Chicass. The
very essence of the Inter-StateYl aE is
embodied in the provisions which these
hitherto favored terminal railroadpoints
now seek to destroy. 1t is the feature of
the bill which grants equal rights to all
the people, and it is the one clause
which, if enforced, makes it impossible
for points like Mankato, Faribault, Red
Wing, Owatonna, st. Peter, Rochester,
Albert Lea, Austin, Waseca, and all the
smaller towns, to thrive and grow-de-
velop into something more than mere
stations for the marketing of the products
of the country.
The people of Minnesota demand a
fair and impartial trial of the law which
has only been in force ten or twelve
days. The great cry which is daily
poured into the ears of the people that
adhering to the long and short haul
feature of the bill is going to ruin the
commercial and manufacturing interests
of the country is altogether too prema-
ture. No time has been allowed for de-
velopments of effects, and until this is
done the National Commission should
demand Il strict compliance with every
provision of the bill, and our State Rail-
road Commissioners will not be endorsed
| ordinations.
The interests of st. Paul and Minneap-
oils, while great, and entitled to all rea-
sonable protection, must not presume to
| further depress those of other portions
of the State. These cities have, to a
very great extent, been built up at the
cost of country towns and cities through
favors received at the hands of railroads,
and now that Congress has wisely pro-
vided protection to all the people they
may be expected to demand an honest
compliance with what is looked upon as
a just and equitable law.
That there may be some inconsistent
features detected in the new law is quite
probable, but if so they can only be de-
monstrated through, an honest, open
trial, and until such is made the people
will not be willing to consent to its abol-
ishiAe nt. The railroads themselves are
DESTROYS of giving it a fair test, and the
mere fact that central points which have
for years sapped the very life out of less
favored localities now cry for relief is of
itself very good reason why the law
should be given all the chance there is
to demonstrate its efficacy.